The Gallery at South DeKalb, formerly South DeKalb Mall, is a

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

owned by Thor Equities. The mall is located at the intersection of Candler Road and

Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with Interstate 10, I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with Interstate 95, I-95 in Flo ...

in the Panthersville CDP of

DeKalb County, Georgia DeKalb County (, , ) is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,382, making it Georgia's fourth-most populous county. Its county seat is Decatur. DeKalb County is inclu ...

History

The mall opened in 1968 with anchors Rich's and

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

. This mall also faced competition from the beginning with several other malls in DeKalb County, mainly Northlake Mall. The Rich's also had an automotive center similar to most Sears of the time. During the early 1970s, the mall sported signage and a logo with the words South DeKalb Mall rendered in

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

SFIntellivised font, similar to the lettering used in the opening credits of the then-famous

Mary Tyler Moore Mary Tyler Moore (December 29, 1936 – January 25, 2017) was an American actress, producer, and social advocate. She is best known for her roles on ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (1961–1966) and ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), which ...

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

series, only in the mall's version, accompanied by a bas-relief

asterisk The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

placed tightly among the letters of the mall's name. As of 2014, the mall's signage still pays homage to the original font. The modern signage is lighted. The former signage was dark brown and made of metal, and was not.

left the mall in 2001 as it relocated to Stonecrest. The space left behind by the anchor has been occupied by a furniture store called Amazing Rooms. The

Chick-Fil-A Chick-fil-A ( , a Word play, play on the American English pronunciation of "wikt:filet#Pronunciation, filet") is an American fast food restaurant chain which is the country's largest which specializes in chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Coll ...

closed at the end of January 2012. South DeKalb Mall became known recently as "The Gallery at South DeKalb" partly reflecting its new owners ideas to change the image of the mall. Currently the mall's anchor stores are

Macy's Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...

(formerly Rich's), Amazing Rooms, and American Screen Works has built a 14-screen movie theater with stadium seating and an entertaining jazz lounge. The Mall is also home to a

Piccadilly Cafeteria Piccadilly Restaurants is an American chain of cafeteria-style, casual dining restaurants in seven, mainly southeastern United States with the majority located in the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast region. They are owned by Piccadil ...

and a small office center behind the mall. The competition is still fierce for The Gallery at South DeKalb with the recent addition in 2001 of the long-awaited

Mall at Stonecrest The Mall at Stonecrest (also referred to and often known as Stonecrest Mall) is a super regional shopping mall along Interstate 20 in eastern Metro Atlanta that opened in 2001 on the growing I-20 corridor. It is off exit 75 in Stonecrest, Georgi ...

eight miles southeast in nearby

Lithonia Lithonia (, ; AAVE: ) is a city in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The city's population was 2,662 at the 2020 census. Lithonia is in the Atlanta metropolitan area. "Lithonia" means "city/town of stone". Lithonia is in the hear ...

. On January 7, 2020, it was announced that

would close, as part of a plan to close 125 stores nationwide. The store closed on March 17, 2020, leaving the mall with no anchor stores.

References

External links

Corporate Website
{{Shopping malls in Georgia (U.S. state) Buildings and structures in DeKalb County, Georgia Shopping malls established in 1968 Shopping malls in the Atlanta metropolitan area Tourist attractions in DeKalb County, Georgia Decatur, Georgia